There are some wedding days that just make sense on film, and Lexi and Justin’s wedding at The Baucom House was one of them. Between the summer light, the property itself, and all of the little moments happening throughout the day, I found myself reaching for my film camera constantly.
Their wedding was photographed with a mix of digital and 35mm film, which gave me the best of both worlds: the consistency and flexibility of digital alongside the softer, nostalgic feeling that makes me love film wedding photography so much. Some of those film photographs were later featured by Wed Society Raleigh, making this gallery an especially fun example of what 35mm film can add to a wedding day.
A Spring Wedding at The Baucom House in Raleigh, NC
The Baucom House is tucked just outside Raleigh and has quickly become one of those venues I love photographing because there’s so much variety without having to leave the property. The house itself has plenty of character, but you also have open outdoor spaces, greenery, and different pockets of light that change throughout the day.
For Lexi and Justin’s spring wedding, that gave us plenty of room to make intentional portraits without the entire day becoming about portraits. We could step away when the light was good, make something beautiful, and then get them right back to actually enjoying their wedding.
That balance is a huge part of how I approach wedding photography. I want the photographs that feel intentional enough to hang on your walls, but I also want your gallery to be filled with everything that happened while nobody was thinking about the camera.
A Little More Film, Courtesy of Abigaile
One of the extra fun parts of Lexi and Justin’s wedding was getting to have even more film woven into their gallery. In addition to the 35mm film I photographed throughout the day, Abigaile of @janesphotofilm.co also captured film alongside me, giving us another perspective on all of the little moments happening throughout the wedding.
I already love the unpredictability and personality that comes with film, so getting scans back from two different perspectives made this gallery even more fun. Jane’s images fit so naturally alongside mine while still bringing her own eye to the day, and I love how much film ended up becoming part of the way Lexi and Justin’s wedding was documented.
Why This Wedding Was Made for 35mm Film
I bring 35mm film into wedding days because it gives me something genuinely different from my digital cameras. I’m not interested in using film simply because it’s trendy or trying to make every photograph look artificially vintage. I love it because of the way it handles color, texture, movement, skin tones, and especially light.
Lexi and Justin’s wedding had so many of the things I love photographing on film. The summer greenery around The Baucom House looked beautiful with the softer colors and grain of 35mm, while portraits took on a slightly nostalgic quality that fit naturally alongside the digital images in their final gallery.
There’s also something about not immediately seeing the photograph that changes the way I shoot. Film slows me down just enough to really think about what deserves a frame. I’m paying attention to composition and light, but I’m also watching for the little moments that might otherwise disappear in a few seconds.
When the scans come back weeks later, those photographs almost feel like tiny memories within the larger wedding gallery.
35mm Wedding Photography Featured in WedSociety Raleigh
Some of my film photographs from Lexi and Justin’s Baucom House wedding were later featured by Wed Society Raleigh, which was such a fun way to see this particular gallery live beyond their wedding day.
I especially loved that the feature included the film work because those photographs are such a good representation of why I continue incorporating 35mm into weddings. Film isn’t there to replace digital photography, and I don’t think one is inherently better than the other. They simply tell the story a little differently.
Digital allows me to react quickly and document everything unfolding around me, while film gives certain moments a different texture and feeling. When the two are photographed intentionally alongside each other, the final gallery feels cohesive without every image looking exactly the same.
For me, that mix is where the magic happens.
Documentary Wedding Photography With an Editorial Eye
Even though I love the look of 35mm film, the medium itself is only part of what makes these photographs feel the way they do. The bigger piece is how I approach the wedding day.
I describe my work as documentary wedding photography with an editorial eye, which essentially means I’m not interested in choosing between candid photographs and beautiful portraits. I want both.
When it’s time for portraits, I’ll give direction. I’ll pay attention to your hands, where the light is coming from, the background, and the overall composition. We can slow down for a few minutes and intentionally create something beautiful without asking you to suddenly become professional models.
For the rest of the day, I’m paying attention to what’s already happening. I’m looking for reactions during the ceremony, people interacting during cocktail hour, someone watching from the edge of the room, the way your family hugs you, and all of the tiny things you probably won’t even realize happened until you see the photographs later.
Your wedding gallery shouldn’t only show you what your wedding looked like. It should give you pieces of what it actually felt like to be there.
Film Photography Doesn't Mean Your Entire Wedding Has to Look Vintage
I think one of the biggest misconceptions around film wedding photography is that you need a wedding with a very specific aesthetic for it to make sense. Film often gets associated with vintage dresses, flash photography, retro details, or intentionally nostalgic wedding design, but that isn’t the only place it belongs.
You don't need to plan your wedding around your photographer's film stock.
The Baucom House is a perfect example. Lexi and Justin’s wedding still felt polished, romantic, and completely current, while film added softness and texture to certain parts of the story. It complemented what was already there instead of turning the wedding into something it wasn't.
That’s how I want film to function in my work. I’m not trying to put a vintage filter over your wedding day. I’m choosing another medium that allows me to interpret certain moments differently.
capturing the way your day actually felt
Planning a Raleigh Wedding With 35mm Film Photography?
I photograph weddings using both digital and film so your gallery can have the nostalgia, grain, movement, and beautiful imperfections of 35mm while still documenting the full story of the day. Some moments make me immediately reach for film, some need digital, and quite a few deserve both.
